Beauty & lifestyle

Month: April 2016

Hello everyone! I think it has been a year since I last posted something under the Ingredient Wise category on my blog. I got so caught up in regular product reviews, that this section kind of disappeared off my radar for a bit. I will try to post more of these in the coming months! 🙂

Now in case your wondering what this category is all about here is a quick description: We take a hyped up product, review the claims and see if the ingredients in it actually support the claims and promises. Today, I am going to dissect the ingredient list of the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask which comes at a price tag of 80 US $. This mask is quite popular among beauty enthusiasts and generally I feel everyone is after firming products with gold particles in it these days! 80$ is a hefty price tag for a face mask (and I thought the Glam glow face mask price tags were atrocious)

(Image Source: Sephora website)

Claims ( From Sephora’s website)

This lavish, pampering treatment helps to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for a youthful-looking complexion. Caffeine helps tighten and firm the look of skin while peridot—an exquisite gemstone rich in magnesium—re-energizes and helps reduce the aging effects of stress. The 24K gold imparts an opulent, radiant glow and locks in moisture for ultra-hydrated skin.

Yup I agree with them on the pampering part …after all putting on a face mask with 24K gold particles is luxe pampering! I did search quite a bit on the internet for some independent research on if gold helps lock in moisture when applied on the skin, and unfortunately found none. If you look at the ingredient list, you will see that the glycerin is the very first ingredient. Glycerin has been used for decades as a very good moisturizing ingredient and can be found in cheaper face masks and moisturizers as well. The mask also contains high amounts of Sodium Hyaluronate which is an excellent humectant. Humectants attract water and hence when applied on the skin, they keep the skin moist and supple with no greasiness. This mask will definitely be moisturizing just that it will be because of these 2 ingredients instead of the gold particles.

Caffeine at one point was a hot ingredient for cosmetic products probably because of its anti inflammatory properties. However, there is not much scientific evidence to prove that it can help with anti ageing or skin tightening. Paula’s Choice has a good write up on caffeine in skincare (HERE) complete with scientific references.

The ingredient in this face mask that intrigues me the most is the peridot gemstone! In the ingredient list it is listed as Olivine Extract which is essentially a bio available (can be absorbed by the body) magnesium complex sourced from Peridot. I could not find any independent scientific data on olivine extract- it is a cosmetic ingredient marketed by a company called Gattefosse. So again, no idea if this really helps with minimizing ageing from stress

Now lets take a look at the ingredient that is the main focus of this face mask..the gold! Now I could not find any independent scientific study that shows gold can help in firming the skin and restore lost elasticity. However, there are a lot of people who claim to see the benefits so the verdict is still out there on if gold really works in firming the skin.Do let me know if you have come across any independent studies which support these claims.

The radiant skin promised by the mask is probably due to the temporary and brief deposit of the gold particles on skin which reflect light. Additionally the mica present in the mask might also contribute to this illusion.

Overall, I am not convinced about the benefits of this mask. I do believe that it will be a nice moisturizing mask but not sure if it can provide actual firming and anti ageing benefits.

Have you tried this mask? Has it worked for you? Let me know in the comments!

Today I wanted to share with you all, my thoughts on a body lotion I picked up a few months back from the brand Jason. I was filling up my basket online at feelunique and in order to qualify for a free gift/sample I added this body lotion 😀 to my cart. I think I paid somewhere between 8-10$ for this.

Jason Glowing Apricot Hand and Body Lotion

As you can see from the picture of the tube, they do not use parabens, Petrolatum, artificial colors or phthalates in their products. They also have the leaping bunny certification so it is cruelty free too! The picture of the apricot (I love apricots and anything that smells like apricots) and the promise of intense moisture for extremely dry skin sucked me right in. Unfortunately, the lotion was kinda meh 😦

The smell of the lotion was not exactly what I had in mind. It did not smell fresh and light, rather it smelt like shampoo/ conditioner to me. Yes, it was an apricot scent but too chemical/synthetic for my taste. The intense moisture for extremely dry skin claim did not pan out so well either in my case. I used this in the dead of winter and it did not provide moisture that lasted more than 3 hours. The big plus about this lotion is that it is non greasy and light on the skin and I think maybe that is the reason it did not work for me in the winter.

Now that my skin is less dry and more normal, it does seem moisturizing. So I think, this works well for those with normal skin as opposed to extremely dry skin as they claim on the tube.

Ingredient List

The tube also claims to brighten skin due to the addition of apricot and almond oils which again I didn’t really notice. If you take a look at the ingredients list the main moisturizing ingredients in the lotion is glycerin and glycerin derivatives. The apricot and almond oil are buried somewhere in the middle of list, which is probably why their brightening effects are not so evident when using this lotion.

Overall, to me this is an average body lotion which did not wow me. I like the non greasy feel and therefore will use it up in the coming warmer months.

Have you tried anything from the brand? Do let me know if I am missing out on anything awesome from them 🙂

Hello folks..hope everyone is enjoying the early days of spring! I am a blush lover and have way too many of them in my collection. My favorite bit of putting on some makeup is choosing blush. I usually wear whatever blush I feel like irrespective of the season but this year I thought I’d pick up 5 blushes to use in the first month of spring. In today’s post I share with you my 5 picks!

Spring blush picks!

The Kiko Milano Rebel Bouncy Blush is a limited edition product from Kiko but it is still available on their website as of today in case your interested! The shade red passion wine is a deep pink with mauve undertones and is not the usual spring time appropriate color..but I am a bit of rebel when it comes to things like that 😉 It has a very interesting cream to powder finish on the skin and works well for light makeup days.

The Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Pink Buttercream is one of my all time favorite blushes! It is a baked blush with swirls of light pink,apricot and a tinge of violet. The texture and staying power of this blush is fantastic. The blush leaves a lovely pink sheen on your cheeks.

Shades of pink and peach!

The Japonesque Velvet Touch blush in 03 is pretty much the timid sister of NARS Orgasm blush. This shade is a lovely pink with fine gold shimmer particles which do not look translate into a glitter party on your cheeks. The packaging is stellar and this shade will suit fair to medium skintones beautifully.

The Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso is quite famous on social media. I did not quite get the hype about this blush till I actually used it 🙂 It is one of the best peachy blushes I own. The quality is top notch and the shimmer in this blush is barely detectable. It leaves your cheeks looking warm and healthy!

The Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush in Pink is another fabulous blush from the drugstore. It is not very pigmented and therefore you can go crazy with your blush brush in the pan 😀 and I kind of like that about this blush! It leaves a lovely light pink sheen on the cheeks. This is my go to blush when I am in a hurry since I don’t have to worry about applying it carefully and also since the pink color is kind of neutral and goes with any look.

Hope you enjoyed going through my list! What are your favorite blushes for spring?